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Friday, 28 October 2011

I just realised I forgot to post the winner of the My Memories Digi Scrapping software. It goes to Akilli Melek (aka Caroline)! Congratulations! She's my fellow UKS teamie too so I can look forward to seeing what digi pages she makes when she posts them to the gallery there. She's a new mum too so it should come in handy for scrapping when she doesn't want to get all the supplies out! Caroline if you read this before I speak to you on the forum then you just need to let me know your email address so I can let you know the code for the software download.

Don't forget, if you want to purchase the software I posted a code here that you can use for a $10 discount.

That's all for today as we are off to our friend's house for dinner. Back soon, xxx

Monday, 24 October 2011

I've started my festive themed crafting - prompted by my first Design Team package from SJ Crafts. It was full of the gorgeous '12 Days of Christmas' Collection from My Mind's Eye, and I loved working with the bright, fun papers and embellishments. My first projects, a layout and two cards, are now on the SJ Crafts blog, so go check them out here! Here's a couple of sneaks so you have an idea what you'll be seeing:

And while you're over there don't forget to have a browse and see what the other DT members have been up to! Or check out this week's special offer £1 off all 6x6" paper packs ordered before 11pm Wednesday night - see here.

Did you see my last post including a Giveaway of Digi Scrapping software? Don't forget to enter!

Friday, 21 October 2011

The lovely Liz at My Memories Suite offered me a chance to try out this digi scrapping software, to let you all know what I thought of it, and then offer a copy of the software as a Giveaway to one of you! This was my first ever try at digi scrapping, so read on to see what I thought of it and to try and win a copy (worth $39.97) for yourself...

I was suprised how quickly I was able to get to grips with My Memories Suite and make a good page. I'm going to point out that I haven't tried using any other programs (like Photoshop) to digi scrap, so I can't compare, I can only say what my experience is with this software.

I found it quite easy to navigate through all the free papers (over 1500), embellishments (over 1300), and other bits and pieces which come with the package. Just using the included items it only took me an hour (after downloading and installing) to browse and then make this layout:

I love how realistic the lace looks, and I had great fun playing with things like the opacity of the grey satin ribbon, it's so easy to customise things like this to fit in with your page.

Straight from the start my favourite thing about the software is the 'picker' and 'match' tools. I love that I can find colours in my photos, background papers, or embellishments, and use them for matting, colouring fonts, and more. I like using similar colours throughout the page to bring it all together, so I know this is a tool I'll use every time!

After finishing this page I had a look at the free downloads of extra papers and embellishments that are available on the My Memories website. I downloaded two free items, 'worn paper' and 'loving you 2' and used them, alongside the items included in the software, to create this layout:

Supplies Include: 'Worn Paper' Pack and 'Loving You 2' Pack.

I enjoyed being able to twist, flip, and resize elements to fit my page (like the flourish on this page), something I wouldn't be able to do with paper scrapbooking. And the worn paper and the rose embellishments look quite textural, I like having a variety of surfaces on my layouts.

I think both these layouts still look like my style, I was worried that digi scrapping would stop them looking like mine. What do you think?

I don't think I'd ever convert completely to digi scrapping, as I like playing with stash way too much! But I can definitely see me using it more, especially for certain projects, like ones I'd like to print out several copies of to give as gifts. I can make an album with photos of my kids, and then order copies for my mum, my mother-in-law, and even my grandparents. Plus I can sit and scrap when I'm watching the TV in the evenings without having to bring a load of stash down to the sofa.

The software can also be used for other things. You can input music and videos to create a video (something I want to have a go at sometime!) and you can use it to make cards. It would be quite easy to make a square card, but I wanted to try and make an A6 Christmas card. So I used the 'portrait' setting and I came up with this design using items included in the software:

After exporting it as a j-peg I copied it into publisher, and had to trim off the two sides a bit to fit it onto an A6 card front. I printed two to use a whole sheet of A4 paper, and after cutting and folding I added a few adhesive gems to finish the card off (sorry the colour's not great on this photo but I'm away from home at the moment so I can't re-take it):

I've just paid for another pack of Christmas papers so I can make some more Christmas cards like this, it will be a good way to make cards for people I don't know so well, like my hubby's work colleagues. I'll still want to make paper ones for my family and close friends. But this would also be really useful for making a batch of cards like invites or thank-you cards, whether I added an extra embellies or not it would still be making the process a lot faster!

So overall I think this software is great, and definitely good value for money when you compare it's cost to other programs like Photoshop. The only thing I'm not sure of yet is how easy it would be to use with digi packs purchased elsewhere on the web - it's something I still need to investigate. I checked that you can use them with the software, but the website only says that they won't install as easily as those purchased from My Memories, and doesn't tell you how to install them. I guess this is because they want to make it easiest to purchase their kits and promote their own designers, which is fair enough, but it would make the software have certain limitations for me. But, like I say, I haven't investigated it fully yet, and they do have lots of tutorials, and a My Memories blog (which has challenges to win gift vouchers to the site!), so the information may be there somewhere, or it might be quite easy to work out for myself. I'll let you know!

Now, if you'd like to win a copy of this software for yourself, all you have to do is pop over to the My Memories website, have a browse of their digi kits, and tell me which one appeals to you (I'm going to look at your suggestions to see which kits I fancy buying next!). You just need to leave me a comment on this post to enter, before next Wednesday 26th Oct 11.59pm GMT. I'll draw a winner on Thursday 27th, so don't forget to come back and check if you've won! (If you think you might forget then please leave me an email address so I can contact you if you win.)

Finally, if you want to buy a copy of My Memories version 2, I can offer you a discount code to get a $10 discount. You'll also get a $10 coupon to the store to buy yourself some more papers or a digi pack! If you want to take advantage of this then use this code: STMMMS40449. I'm going to be honest and say that if you use this code then I get a bonus too. I hope you don't mind me putting it on here, I thought it would be okay, as it would benefit both of us if you fancy buying the software.

I shall stop babbling on now. I hope you've enjoyed seeing my first attempts at digi scrapping. Don't forget to visit the My Memories website and let me know which kit is your favourite, if you want a chance at winning the software.

Monday, 17 October 2011

Sorry it's been a couple of weeks since my last post. I have been busy with lots of bits and pieces, and have also been feeling a bit under the weather (just a cough and cold), but these things have added up to blog laziness. I do apologise!

One of the things I've been doing is some DT work for SJCrafts, hopefully I'll be able to share my DT projects with you at some point this week! I've also been trying out digi scrapping, so I'll post my digi pages in a couple of days too (and heads up - they'll be a giveaway with that post!)

For now I can show you some little bits I've been up to. I'm making my daughter a rag doll for a Christmas present, and while I was waiting for the material to arrive to make the actual doll, I decided to get started by crocheting a blanket for it. I found the pattern via the Ravelry site (which I've recently discovered is a great resource for knitting and crochet patterns), but you can see the pattern by Norwegian blogger Solveig on her blog here. I've got this far:

I just need to add the rest of the off-white yarn to join it all together. I'm trying out making it this size, for a doll, and if I don't get too stressed out with it then I'm going to attempt to make us a large blanket. But that will probably take me all of 2012!

Another thing I've been up to is making a Hippy costume for my husband. He had a charity day at the retail store he works in, so I spent an evening tuning some of his clothes into groovy 60's gear! My favourite was these trousers, they used to be smart business trousers. I stitched in some triangles to make them into flares, and then my friend Rosie helped me paint them with hippy designs:

It was so much fun! And he looked the part on the day, with a bright red wig definitely making him stand out from the crowd (we dressed little miss up a bit too when we went to see him):

So there we go, a little glimpse into what I've been up to. Now we're about to eat some chestnuts we gathered yesterday, and then I may have to force myself to watch Downton Abbey which I recorded last night. My idea of a perfect autumn evening! x

Saturday, 1 October 2011

I'm getting inspired today by some World Cardmaking Day festivities appearing around blogland! Pink Paisley have uploaded 7 challenges, with a chance for prizes, to their Live Pink forum here, and I've made a card for challenge #1 (to use a neutral background with bright colours on top):

And Crate Paper are having a World Cardmaking Day giveaway here, to win kits from 3 collections. You don't have to make anything to enter this one, you just have to comment, but I was inspired to make a card using Crate Paper anyway:

If you want to join in with either of these then you need to do so by Sunday night.

Are you making any cards this weekend? If so, who for? I'm going to send one of these to my sister (who's halfway through a year in Australia at the moment), and I'll keep the other on standby for when I need one!

Jennifer Grace

Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm a crafting mummy, who loves scrapbooking, card making, and much more! Check out the 'about me' page if you want to get to know me better. I'd love it if you'd leave a comment to say hi! xx